Adidas and Stormzy have announced a new collaboration – #Merky FC – a careers programme intended to help boost diversity in football.
The news comes a week after the brand abandoned is collaboration with Kanye West following the rapper’s anti-semitic comments.
The new project with Stormzy aims to provide football career opportunities and mentoring through work placements with Adidas and 10 other industry-leading companies.
While #Merky FC is open to all applicants, candidates aged between 18 to 24 from Black or mixed Black heritage are specifically encouraged to apply to the scheme.
“The initiative combines Adidas’s football leadership with Stormzy’s experience in creating equality in education and the workplace for young people of Black heritage,” the brand said.
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The 10 employers that will provide people with placements at the beginning of next year, include LADbible, Sky Sports, Fulham FC and Manchester United.
According to the sports brand’s research, in association with FARE network, only 6.7% of senior roles in football are held by someone with Black or mixed Black heritage, despite 39% of the Premier League being made up of players who identify as Black or mixed Black heritage. A reported 0.012 percent of Black British young people will make it as Premier League professionals.
Stormzy, who posted the launch of the collaboration on Instagram this morning, said: “We barely see any black Team Managers, Coaches, Sports Presenters, Assistants, Ops Managers, Sales Managers, Accountants, Marketing Managers or Physiotherapists – the list goes on, nor are many of us even aware of the vast roles available within the football industry.
“Through the #Merky FC initiative we hope to inspire real change within this field as part of my wider commitment to support racial equality in the UK.
“With the support of Adidas and the additional 10 partners, we will be in a position to aid the people who may have experienced disadvantages during their football career pathway. We strongly encourage other companies to join us in our mission.”
Adidas added: “We are passionate about providing inclusive opportunities to young talent in the UK. We are proud to be working in partnership with Stormzy to introduce #Merky FC, an initiative that directly tackles some of the biggest barriers facing UK youth in football today, by creating a legacy of career opportunities off the pitch alongside the other partners.
“Along with the support of our network of adidas partners, we are committed to fighting for equal representation in football, and this launch is only the beginning for #Merky FC. Watch this space.”
